TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iran and Cuba called for resolving transportation problem and the launch of direct flight for boosting bilateral economic cooperation.
Head of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mine and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Mr. Gholam-Hossein Shafei met with Cuba’s Ambassador to Tehran Alberto Gonzalez Casals and during the meeting both sides called for enhancing economic cooperation through resolving problems and launching direct flights between the two countries.
In the meeting, Shafei pointed to the meeting of Iran-Cuba Joint Economic Commission which will convene next month in Tehran and called for defining a certain model for improving economic cooperation at Iran Chamber of Commerce and this model is signed in the form of a MoU during the joint commission meeting in order that economic cooperation between the two countries would continue in an organized way.
He deplored that Tehran and Havana despite having deep political ties do not have strong economic ties, adding that the common pain of Iran and Cuba is their experience of the U.S. sanctions and since both countries have experience in circumventing these sanctions, sharing these experiences can be useful for both sides.
Shafei also called for exchange of economic and trade information between the two states, adding that lack of information has hurt boosting economic cooperation between the two states. He reiterated that ICCIMA like Iran’s government seeks boosting the level of economic ties with Cuba, adding that due to relatively improvement of the pandemic, the chamber is ready for dispatch of trade delegations to Cuba.
Then Cuban Ambassador to Tehran Mr. Casals, for his part, deplored that the trade ties of Iran and Cuba have not progressed well like their political ties, adding that this trend should be corrected and Cuba is ready for cooperation with Iran.
He added that cooperation between the two states will help circumventing the U.S. sanctions and this is his main task. He added that Cuba needs Iran’s help in the energy sector as the two countries had good cooperation during producing COVID vaccine and it should continue. He reiterated that Cuba is eager to have more cooperation with Tehran in the pharmaceutical sector to enjoy Iran’s experiences. He noted that Cuba also needs cooperation with Iran in the fields of mining, agriculture, food industries, renovating factories and equipment.
Casals also invited Iran’s private sector to attend an exhibition to be held in Cuba with participation of over 80 countries, adding that Cuba likes Iran to have the biggest pavilion in the exhibition to put on display all of its products.
He also called for cooperation in the tourism sector, adding that the direct flight between Tehran and Havana should be launched, adding that for now, both sides can start with chartered monthly flights and it is better to start with a flight carrying Iranian traders for attending the exhibition.
Casals announced readiness of the embassy for accelerating visa process and it is also ready to issue visa card which will be to the benefit of traders and tourists.
Then Shafei then reiterated that transportation is one of the most important problems for enhancing trade ties between the two states, adding that direct flight will have great impact on tourism and even the shuttle of traders and both sides should work on it.
